Sikh Gurus > Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Guru Nanak was born in 1469 at Rai Bhoeki Talwandi now known as Gurdwara Nankana
Sahib situated in Punjab province of West Pakistan . This place is
about 55 miles north-west of Lahore . His father, Mehta Kalu was a
Patwari- an accountant of land revenue in the government. Guru's mother
was Mata Tripta and he had one older sister, Bibi Nanki. From the very
childhood, Bibi Nanki saw in him the Light of God but she did not
reveal this secret to anyone. She is known as the first disciple of
Guru Nanak.

GURU'S SCHOOLING

At the age of seven, Guru Nanak was sent to school, which was run by
teacher, Pandit Gopal Das, at his village. As usual the teacher started
the lesson with an alphabet but the teacher was wonder-stuck when the
Guru asked him to explain the meanings of the letters of the alphabet.
However at the helplessness of his teacher, the Guru wrote the meanings
of each and every letter of the alphabet. This was the first Divine
Message delivered by Guru Nanak. This was an explanation of deeper
truth about human beings and God and the way to realize God in terms of
the alphabet. The teacher stood abashed before the Divine Master and
bowed to him. He then took him back to his father and said, "Mehtaji,
your son is an Avtar (prophet) and has come to redeem the victims of
Kalyug (the age of Falsehood). He is destined to be a world Teacher,
there is nothing that I can teach him."

Many writers believe that Guru Nanak was first sent to different
schools belonging to the Hindus and Muslims to learn about Vedas (Hindu
Scriptures) and Quran (Muslim Scripture), and only after obtaining the
knowledge from those scriptures, he started his religion. According to
Malcolm, Guru Nanak is said to have learnt all earthly scenes from
Khizr -the Prophet Elias. "There is a reason to believe," writes
Cunningham, "that in his youth he made himself familiar with the
popular creeds both of Mohammadans and the Hindus and that he gained a
general knowledge of the Quran and Brahmanical Shastras."

It seems that all these scholars of history have not grasped the basic
fundamental fact about the divinity of Guru Nanak. He was born with
divine status, thus, his teachings were heavenly. These writers seem to
be very much ignorant of the fact that Guru Nanak was an Embodiment of
Divine Light.He was a celestial being and his divine attributes put him
above mankind and its schools. Historians have failed to visualize the
splendor in Guru's Jot. Heavenly Spirit does not learn from man-made
institutions. He was a heavenly messenger and a born world teacher who
taught the mankind the path of righteousness and truth. Guru Nanak's
divinity is above all earthly institutions and their teachings. The
Message that Guru Nanak gave to this world, came to him direct from God
as he confirms himself: It is also mentioned in the Janamsakhi
(biography) that many times Guru Nanak said to his companion Mardana,
"Mardana, play the rebec, the Divine Word is coming." This confirms the
fact that education from the Hindu and Muslim religious institutions,
had no bearing at all on the Divine Word that Guru Nanak received from
God and delivered to this world. To say that Guru went to different
institutions to learn, is violating the sanctity of Guruship.

CEREMONY OF SACRED THREAD

Guru Nanak was nine years old and according to the custom among the
higher castes of Hindus, he was required to invest himself with the
sacred thread called 'Janaeu'. Great preparations were made by his
father for this ceremony. The family priest named Hardyal, started
chanting Mantras (Hindu hymns) and was ready to put the thread around
Guru's neck when he refused to wear it. The whole assembly was
astonished. They tried to persuade him every way to wear the Janaeu but
in vain.

COBRA SERVES THE DIVINE MASTER

As usually is the case in villages, the father sent his son to graze
the buffaloes in the pastures. One day while the Guru was grazing the
buffaloes, he fell asleep under a tree and the herd destroyed the crops
in the neighboring fields. When the owner saw his crops damaged, he
became furious and lodged a complaint with Rai Bular, an
officer-in-charge of that area. Rai Bular sent for the son and his
father to adjust the quarrel. The Guru told them that no damage was
done to the crops; rather it was blessed by God. Rai Bular sent his
messengers to inspect the fields. But to everybody's surprise the
investigators could not find any damage in the fields rather the crops
were doubly blossoming. The field where this miracle happened is now
known as Kiara Sahib. On another day the Guru was sent to graze the
buffaloes in the pastures and he fell asleep under the shade of a tree.
As the sun rose higher, the shadow moved away. A big cobra came out of
its den and provided shadow with its hood over the face of the Divine
Master. Rai Bular happened to pass by that side with his attendants.
When he saw this strange scene, he was convinced that the boy was a man
of God. Upon seeing the people, the cobra retreated to its den and Rai
Bular touched Guru's feet in great reverence and thus became Guru's
disciple.